What: Picket against DPP - Solidarity with Ian Tomlinson's Family

When: 12noon Friday 30th July.

Where: Office of Department of Public Prosecution
Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS.

Facebook event:   http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139946402701890

Ian Tomlinson died on April 1st 2009 after being batoned by a policeman who then pushed him violently to the floor. He was walking home from work. A few short moments later he collapsed and died of his injuries.

The police immediately attempted a cover-up which fell apart after footage of the death leaked to the media. Since then, the police, the so-called Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) & the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) have been investigating the death.

Person A ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10737347) is punched in an unprovoked attack and falls backwards, hitting his head on the pavement and dies a week later in hospital after not regaining conciousness. The attack is captured on CCTV.

Person A's attackers receive prison sentences of 4 1/2 years & 3 1/2 years.

***

Person B ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10725027) is hit with a blunt instrument then pushed violently from behind causing him to fall to the ground in an unprovoked attack, manages to stagger away before collapsing and dying from his injuries close by minutes later. The attack is recorded on video camera and witnessed by several people.

Despite being identified, with video and witness evidence, Person B's attacker isn't even prosecuted.

The difference being in their chosen gang's establishment links and ability to cover up their crimes. Person A's attackers were young black members of the local neighbourhood gang with no establishment links to protect them, whereas person B's attacker was an enforcer with London's biggest gang which prides itself on it's ability to pervert the course of justice with impunity to protect it's members from virtually any risk of ever doing any jail time through it's high level establishment links.

The police officer PC Simon Harwood caught on video striking newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during last year's G20 protests in London faces disciplinary proceedings, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, told MPs today.

Tomlinson later died. His family today called for those proceedings to be held in public.

Stephenson's announcement came less than a week after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would not press charges against PC Simon Harwood, a member of Scotland Yard's territorial support group. That decision provoked anger from Tomlinson's family and supporters

Source  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/27/ian-tomlinson-death-paul-stephenson?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"Bad apples" my arse. This is institutionalised behaviour on the part of the Met (and most other police services), and it'll take more than a disciplinary hearing that ends in a derisory punishment to wash the blood from the MPS's hands.
The conclusion? The killer PC Simon Harwood has walked completely free and will not even be put before the court.

The lesson? The police are there to enforce the law, not to abide by it.

Everyone to the streets! Never forget Never forgive!
If you work, try and get half a day off like many of us are doing. Most importantly spread the word to all your friends and family.

Office of Department of Public Prosecution
Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS

12 Noon, 30th July 2010.

 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139946402701890

Their conclusion? The killer PC Simon Harwood will not be charged with any offence.